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Macquarie tops 2013 IPO league table

The homegrown investment bank beat UBS to claim the number one status as the country’s leading IPO underwriter.

By Brett Cole

Macquarie Group Ltd has shoved aside its perennial equity capital markets rival UBS AG to claim the number one underwriter status in 2013 of Australian initial public offerings, after a flurry of deals in the last quarter that often saw both investment banks together acting as joint lead managers.

Of the 59 IPOs that were priced and traded in 2013, more than half – 30 IPOs – came in the last three months of 2013, according to Bloomberg data.

These fourth quarter IPOs were the biggest of the year.

Macquarie and UBS were joint lead managers of many of them, including media group Nine Entertainment Co’s $624.6 million IPO and travel insurer Cover-More Group Ltd’s $521.2 million initial share sale.

But in the rush to bring these IPOs to market their share market performances were often disappointing. Nine’s stock is still trading below its IPO price as is Cover-More’s.

The biggest IPO of 2013 – the $648.6 million share sale of packaging company Pact Group Holdings Ltd that was underwritten by Macquarie and Credit Suisse Group AG – is also trading below its IPO price.

Some bankers expect the 2014 IPO market will continue in the same vein as was seen in the latter stages of 2013. Several suggest that as much as $4 billion worth of IPOs may occur by the end of March and $8 billion by the end of June.

The IPOs may include Pacific Equity Partners’ outsource and facilities management business Spotless, which has an annual revenue of $2.7 billion.

Carlyle Group and TPG’s hospital provider Healthscope Group Ltd may also seek to sell shares in 2014, although Carlyle has said no decision on the sale of Healthscope has yet been made.

Bloomberg 2013 IPO underwriting league table

Firm

Number of IPOs

Worth

1. Macquarie Group

9

$3.58 billion

2. UBS

7

$2.47 billion

3. Credit Suisse

4

$1.6 billion

4. RBS Morgans

8

$1.2 billion

5. Morgan Stanley

4

$1.17 billion

6. Goldman Sachs

3

$1.06 billion

7. Baillieu Holst

3

$866.5 million

8. Evans & Partners

3

$866.2 million

9. JP Morgan

3

$779.2 million

10. Deutsche Bank

1

$648.6 million

Brett Cole

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